JAVANESE   BATIK   DESIGNS 
FROM   METAL  STAMPS 


by 
Albert  Buell  Lewis 

Assistant  Curator  of  Melanesian  Ethnology 

24  Plates 


Anthropology  Design  Series  No.  2 


FIELD   MUSEUM  OF  NATURAL  HISTORY 

Chicago 
1924 


ANTHROPOLOGY  DESIGN  SERIES 

This  is  the  second  number  in  a  series  dealing  with 
primitive  and  oriental  designs.  The  first  issue  "Block 
Prints  from  India  for  Textiles,"  is  devoted  to  repro- 
ductions of  the  ink  impressions  obtained  from  wooden 
blocks,  used  for  printing  designs  on  cotton  and  silk  tex- 
tiles. The  majority  of  the  reproductions  used  are 
actual  size  and  consist  chiefly  of  border  and  all-over 
designs. 

A  brief  introduction  explains  the  meaning  and  use 
of  the  designs. 

Price  (including  postage)  $1.00  a  copy. 

Only  drafts  on  Chicago  or  New  York  banks,  money  orders 
and  postage  stamps  will  be  accepted. 

D.  C.  DA  VIES 

DIRECTOK 

FIELD  MUSEUM  OF  NATURAL  HISTORY 
CHICAGO 
U.S.A. 


FIELD   MUSEUM   OF  NATURAL  HISTORY. 


ANTHROPOLOGY,    DESIGN   SERIES  NO.    2,    PLATE 


PORTION   OF   A  JAVANESE   SAR0N6.    SHOWING   BATIK   DESIGNS.      NEARLY    i,  ACTUAL   SIZE. 


JAVANESE   BATIK   DESIGNS 
FROM   METAL  STAMPS 


by 

Albert  Buell  Lewis 

Assistant  Curator  ot  Melanesian  Ethnology 

24  Plates 


Anthropology  Design  Series  No.  2 


FIELD  MUSEUM  OF  NATURAL  HISTORY 


Chicago 
1924 


Javanese  Batik  Designs  from  Metal  Stamps 

The  process  of  drawing  or  painting  a  design  in  wax  on  cloth  so  that  when 
dyed  only  that  part  not  covered  by  the  wax  takes  the  color,  has  been  known  and 
practised  in  Java  for  many  generations.  Cloth  which  has  been  treated  and  dyed 
in  this  way  is  known  as  batik.  The  wax  is  put  on  the  cloth  by  means  of  a  small 
copper  container  with  a  long  slender  spout.  This  is  called  a  tjanting.  The  waxing 
of  the  cloth  is  a  slow  and  tedious  process,  and  is  done  only  by  the  women. 

Formerly  such  work  was  carried  on  chiefly  by  the  women  of  the  leisure 
class,  much  as  fancy  embroidery  is  done  in  some  other  countries.  About  1860, 
however,  a  new  method  was  introduced,  in  which  metal  stamps  were  used  to 
apply  the  wax.  By  this  means  ten  to  twenty  or  even  more  sarongs  could  be 
stamped  or  waxed  in  a  day,  while  by  the  batik  process  it  would  take  a  woman 
twelve  to  fifteen  days  to  wax  a  single  sarong.  This  process  was  so  much  more 
rapid  that  it  soon  became  extensively  used  on  a  commercial  scale,  often  under 
Chinese  management.  The  stamping  was  done  by  men,  and  the  finished  cloth 
was  known  as  chop  work  (often  spelled  tjap)  from  an  Indian  word  meaning  a 
stamp.  This  chop  cloth  proved  so  much  cheaper  than  true  batik,  that  a 
large  proportion  of  the  cloth  dyed  in  Java  is  now  waxed  by  this  method,  or  by  a 
combination  of  stamped  and  batik  work.  For  example,  the  cloth  may  be 
stamped  on  one  side,  and  batiked  on  the  other;  or  the  borders  may  be  stamped, 
while  the  central  design  is  batiked.  Some  handwork,  usually  with  a  brush,  is 
often  done  over  the  stamped  design  to  broaden  the  effect  (Plate  XXIV). 

The  stamps  used  are  made  of  thin  strips  of  copper  about  half  an  inch  wide, 
set  on  edge,  with  short  pieces  of  wire  for  the  dots,  all  soldered  to  an  open  metal 
base  of  the  same  material,  but  of  heavier  strips.  To  this  is  fastened  a  curved  iron 
handle  (Figs.  1  and  2).  The  work  requires  great  skill,  and  there  are  not  many 
men  who  can  make  such  stamps.  The  design  wanted  is  carefully  drawn  on  paper, 
and  this  the  workman  keeps  before  him,  using  a  pair  of  compasses  to  get  the  lines 
and  spaces  exactly  right.  Frequently  it  is  desired  to  stamp  both  sides  of  the 
cloth,  in  which  case  a  second  stamp  must  be  made  accurately  repeating  the 
design,  but  reversed,  and  corresponding  to  it  as  a  negative  corresponds  to  a 
positive.  In  the  cheaper  cloths  the  wax  is  stamped  only  on  one  side,  but  pene- 
trates sufficiently  to  allow  the  design  to  show  fairly  well  on  the  opposite  side 
when  dyed.  The  melted  wax  is  kept  in  a  metal  pan  near-by,  in  which  floats  a 
thick  cloth  pad,  on  which  the  stamp  is  pressed  before  placing  it  on  the  cloth. 
Aside  from  the  use  of  the  metal  stamp  instead  of  the  tjanting  for  waxing  the  finer 
lines  of  the  design,  the  manipulation  is  the  same  as  in  true  batik  work. 

Practically  all  the  batik  and  chop  work  is  now  done  on  factory-made  cotton, 
European  or  Japanese,  as  there  is  very  little  native  cloth  made  at  present.   Not 


only  is  this  true,  but  the  designs  used  have  been  carefully  copied  by  the  man- 
ufacturers of  Europe  and  Japan,  and  a  large  proportion  of  the  so-called  batiks 
on  the  market  in  Java  itself  are  merely  machine-made  prints.  The  old  batik 
designs,  however,  are  usually  very  accurately  reproduced,  just  as  they  are  in 
the  metal  stamps.  Only  the  common  repeating  designs  were  made  in  stamps, 
however,  and  many  foreign  elements  were  introduced,  especially  from  Chinese 
sources. 

The  designs  here  reproduced  are  made  from  ink  impressions  of  metal  stamps 
obtained  in  Java  by  Dr.  George  A.  Dorsey  and  preserved  in  Field  Museum.  The 
designs,  including  that  on  the  title-page,  are  all  actual  size,  except  the  one  on 
Plate  II,  which  had  to  be  somewhat  reduced.  Many  of  the  designs  are  imperfect, 
especially  at  the  edges,  owing  to  injury  to  the  thin  metal  strips  and  wires. 

The  best  books  on  batik  work  and  designs  are  Rouffaer  and  Juynboll,  "Die 
indische  Batikkunst  und  ihre  Geschichte,"  and  Jasper  and  Pirngadie.  "De 
Batikkunst"  (in  Dutch).  Illustrations  of  batik  cloth  are  given  in  a  recent 
French  portfolio  of  plates,  "Les  Batiks  de  Java."  Specimens  of  batik  are 
displayed  in  Hall  32  of  the  Museum. 


FIG.  1.     JAVANESE  METAL  STAMP. 

The  impression  of  this  stamp  is  shown  in 

Fig.  2,  Plate  XX. 

Slightly  reduced. 


FIG.  2.     JAVANESE  METAL  STAMP. 

The  impression  of  this  stamp  is  shown  in 
Fig.  2,  Plate  VIII. 

Slightly  reduced. 


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FIELD    MUSEUM    OF    NATURAL    HISTORY. 


ANTHROPOLOGY,    DESIGN    SERIES    NO.   2,    PLATE  III 


JAVANESE  BATIK  DESIGNS  FROM  METAL  STAMPS. 
Adapted  from  Chinese  Designs. 


FIELD   MUSEUM   OF  NATURAL  HISTORY. 


ANTHROPOLOGY,    DESIGN   SERIES  NO.    2,    PLATE   IV. 


JAVANESE  BATIK  DESIGNS  FROM  METAL  STAMPS. 
Adapted  from  Chinese  Designs.     Fig.  i.     Tiger. 


FIELD   MUSEUM   OF  NATURAL  HISTORY. 


ANTHROPOLOGY,    DESIGN   SERIES  NO.    2,    PLATE  V. 


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JAVANESE  BATIK  DESIGNS  FROM  METAL  STAMPS. 
Adapted  from  Chinese  Designs:  Spotted  Deer. 


Field  museum  of  natural  history. 


ANTHROPOLOGY,    DESIGN    SERIES    NO.  2,    PLATE  VI. 


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JAVANESE  BATIK  DESIGNS  FROM  METAL  STAMPS. 


FIELD   MUSEUM   OF   NATURAL  HISTORY. 


ANTHROPOLOGY,    DESIGN   SERIES  NO.    2,    PLATE  VII. 


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JAVANESE  BATIK  DESIGNS  FROM   METAL  STAMPS. 


FIELD    MUSEUM    OF    NATURAL    HISTORY. 


ANTHROPOLOGY,    DESIGN    SERIES    NO.  2,    PLATE  VIII 


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JAVANESE  BATIK  DESIGNS  FROM  METAL  STAMPS. 

The  design  shown  in  Fig.  2  is  used  in  the  triangular  or  tootlied  design  shown  on  Plate  XXIV.     The  stamp  from  which 
this  impression  was  made  is  ilhistrated  in  Fig.  2,  Page  2. 


FIELD   MUSEUM   OF  NATURAL   HISTORY. 


ANTHROPOLOGY,    DESIGN   SERIES  NO.    2,    PLATE  IX. 


JAVANESE  BATIK  DESIGNS  FROM  METAL  STAMPS. 


FIELD  MUSEUM   OF  NATURAL  HISTORY. 


ANTHROPOLOGY,    DESIGN   SERIES  NO.    2,    PLATE  X. 


JAVANESE  BATIK  DESIGNS  FROM   METAL  STAMPS. 


FIELD    MUSEUM    OF    NATURAL    HISTORY. 


ANTHROPOLOGY,    DESIGN    SERIES   NO.    2,    PLATE    XI. 


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JAVANESE  BATIK  DESIGNS  FROM   METAL  STAMPS. 


FIELD    MUSEUM    OF    NATURAL    HISTORY. 


ANTHROPOLOGY,    DESIGN    SERIES    NO.  2,    PLATE  XII. 


JAVANESE  BATIK  DESIGNS  FROM  METAL  STAMPS. 
Fig.  I.    Adaptation  oi  Chinese  Double  Dragon. 


FIELD    MUSEUM    OF    NATURAL    HISTOHY. 


ANTHROPOLOGY,     DESIGN    SERIES    NO.  2,    PLATE  XII 


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JAVANESE  BATIK  DESIGNS  FROM  METAL  STAMPS. 


FIELD    MUSEUM    OF    NATURAL    HISTORY. 


ANTHROPOLOGY,    DESIGN    SERIES    NO.  2,    PLATE  XIV. 


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JAVANESE  BATIK  DESIGNS  FROM  METAL  STAMPS. 


FIELD    MUSEUM    OF    NATURAL    HISTORY. 


ANTHROPOLOGY,    DESIGN    SERIES    NO.   2,    PLATE  XV. 


JAVANESE  BATIK  DESIGNS  FROM  METAL  STAMPS. 

Figs.  J,  4  and  s  are  single  impressions  of  stamps  used  for  all-over  designs. 


FIELD    MUSEUM    OF    NATURAL    HISTORY. 


ANTHROPOLOGY.    DESIGN    SERIES    NO.  2.    PLATE  XVI. 


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JAVANESE  BATIK  DESIGNS  FROM  METAL  STAMPS. 
Fig.  I  shows  two  impressions  of  the  stamp. 


FIELD   MUSEUM   OF  NATURAL   HISTORY. 


ANTHROPOLOGY,    tJESIGN   SERIES  NO.    2,    PLATE  XVM. 


JAVANESE  BATIK  DESIGNS  FROM  METAL  STAMPS. 


FIELD   MUSEUM  OF  NATURAL  HISTORY. 


ANTHROPOLOGY,    DESIGN   SERIES  NO,    2,    PLATE  XVMI 


JAVANESE  BATIK  DESIGNS  FROM  METAL  STAMPS. 
Single  impressions  of  stamps  used  ior  all-over  designs. 


FIELD   MUSEUM   OF   NATURAL  HISTORY. 


ANTHROPOLOGY,    DESIGN   SERIES  NO.    2,    PLATE  XIX. 


JAVANESE  BATIK  DESIGNS  FROM  METAL  STAMPS. 
Fig.  I  shows  four  impressions  of  tlie  stamp,  a  single  impression  of  which  is  given  in  Fig.  i,  Plate  XX. 


FIELD    MUSEUM    OF    NATURAL    HISTORY. 


ANTHROPOLOGY,     DESIGN    SERIES    NO.  2.    PLATE  XX. 


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Fig.  I,  Plate  XIX  shows  four  impressions  the  same  as  Fig.  i  above,  illustrating  how  they  fit  together  for  an  all-over  design. 


FIELD  MUSEUM  OF  NATURAL  HISTORY. 


ANTHROPOLOGY,    DESIGN   SERIES  NO.    2,    PLATE   XXI. 


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JAVANESE  BATIK  DESIGNS  FROM  METAL  STAMPS. 
Three  impressions  of  Fig.  2  are  shown  in  Plate  XXII,  illustrating  how  they  fit  together. 


FIELD   MUSEUM   OF   NATURAL   HISTORY. 


ANTHROPOLOGY,    DESIGN   SERIES   NO.    2,    PLATE  XXII. 


JAVANESE  BATIK  DESIGN  FROM  METAL  STAMP. 
Three  impressions  of  the  btamp  are  here  shown,  giving  something  of  the  efifect  as  an  all-over  design. 


FIELD  MUSEUM  OF  NATURAL  HISTORY. 


ANTHROPOLOGY,    DESIGN   SERIES  NO.    2,    PLATE 


JAVANESE  BATIK  DESIGN  FROM   METAL  STAMP. 
Twelve  impressions,  either  whole  or  in  part,  are  here  shown. 


FIELD   MUSEUM   OF  NATURAL  HISTORY. 


ANTHROPOLOGY,    DESIGN   SERIES  NO.    2,    PLATE  XXIV. 


PORTION  OF  A  JAVANESE  SARONG,  SLIGHTLY  LESS  THAN  Vl.  ACTUAL  SIZE. 

This  shows  ordinary  stamp  and  brush  work.     The  thin  lines  of  the  triangular  designs  and  borders  have  been  made  with  stamps, 
while  over  the  broad  lines  and  light  areas  the  wax  has  been  put  on  with  the  brush. 


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